On the eighth day of the dedication of the Mishkan,
Aharon, his sons, and the entire nation bring various korbanos
(sacrifices) as commanded by Moshe. Aharon and Moshe bless the
nation. Hashem allows the Jewish People to sense His Presence
after they complete the Mishkan and draw closer to Him through
their mitzvos there. Aharon's sons, Nadav and Avihu, innovate
an original offering that was not commanded by Hashem. A fire
comes from before Hashem and consumes them, stressing the need
to perform the commandments only as Moshe directs. Moshe consoles
Aharon, who grieves in silence. Moshe directs the kohanim as
to their behavior during the mourning period, and warns them that
they must not drink intoxicating beverages before serving in the
Mishkan. The Torah lists the two characteristics of a kosher
animal: It has split hooves; and it chews, regurgitates, and
re-chews its food. The Torah specifies by name those non-kosher
animals which have only one of these two signs. A kosher fish
has fins and easily removable scales. All birds not included
in the list of forbidden families are permitted. The Torah forbids
all types of insects except for four species of locusts. Details
are given of the purification process after coming in contact
with ritually-impure species. The Jewish People are commanded
to be separate, and holy - like Hashem.

Bungee-jumping, hang-gliding, free-fall parachuting,
and riding over Niagara falls in a beer barrel all share one thing.
You have to be absolutely meshuga to do them.

There's a big difference between being fearless
and being foolhardy.

However there are times when being afraid is an
advantage. The Chafetz Chaim once decided that a particular student
should take a vacant post as the Rabbi in a distant community.
The studentwas reluctant to go. He told the Chafetz
Chaim he was afraid of the responsibility of being the only halachic
authority for a whole community. The Chafetz Chaim replied, "Should
I send someone who's not afraid?"

Sometimes being afraid doesn't disqualify someone
from being the right man or woman for the job. Sometimes it's
the essential quality.

Moshe had to tell Aharon, "Come near the
altar." Rashi tells us that Aharon was embarrassed and
afraid to approach the altar. Moshe told him not to be afraid,
for it was precisely Aharon's quality of bashfulness which qualified
him to be the kohen gadol.

When we want to draw close to G-d, to serve Him
with more conviction and faithfulness, we might feel embarrassed
by our inadequacies, afraid and incapable of such a task. "Who
am I to serve G-d?" we might think. It is precisely that
quality of self-effacement, of fear, which is the prerequisite
for being "the right man for the job."

SEVENTH HEAVEN

"And it was on the eighth day..." (9:1)

When Moshe set up the Mishkan Sanctuary, he
didn't set it up just once; he set it up eight times. Every day,
for seven days, Moshe set up the Mishkan and then took
it down again. On the eighth day, he set it up and left it up.

Why was all this necessary?

Let's answer this question with another one. Why
did G-d create the world?

G-d created the world so that the Shechina -
the Divine Presence - could dwell in it. When G-d first created
the world, the Divine Presence rested on the Creation. However,
Man, through his destructive spiritual actions, caused the Shechina
to retreat bit by bit, until it ascended back to the Seventh
Heaven. After the world had sunk to this spiritual nadir there
came seven spiritual giants in seven generations who managed to
bring the Divine Presence down again to this world: Avraham,
Yitzchak, Yaakov, Levi, Kehas, Amram and Moshe.

With the giving of the Torah at Sinai, G-d finally
"descended" once again to this world, as it says "And
Hashem came down to Mount Sinai." However, in all
too short a time, the Shechina retreated back to the Seventh
Heaven at the Jewish People's infidelity regarding the Golden
Calf.

The healing process of seven generations of tzaddikim
and the concomitant return of the Shechina to this world
was concretized in Moshe's building the Mishkan for seven
days. However, even after these seven days, which represented
the seven generations, the cure was not total. A golden calf
was still possible. It was only on the eighth day, when Moshe
set up the Mishkan for the eighth time, that the final
cure to these spiritual maladies took effect. And thus, the Mishkan
could remain standing.

This is one of the reasons that the Talmud says,
"On the day the Mishkan was finally set up, Hashem had
the same joy as on the day on which the Heavens and the Earth
were created." For it was on that day that the purpose
of this world, G-d's "dwelling" in this world, was finally
achieved.